It's been a long, long time everyone!

I'd laid off of writing fanfics for a while, but I figured it would be best to tie up loose ends.

I'll be updating regularly (I think?) with what I have so far. Beyond that, I don't know whether I'll be able to finish this story with the ending I intended. But hopefully, I'll get there.

Enjoy, and thank you for being so patient with me.

Disclaimers: Gintama ain't mine

Starting off along the shore at Tago

And saw the white and glistening peak of Fuji all aglow

That profound ember

Hiding not its glow in the fast approaching storm

Kindles into flames with one cinder more

Behold what magnificent setting Sun

What full Moon rises

Ravens crow, reigning only at dusk

Night soon descends and only embers burn asunder

Amidst those burning flames

Sakura flourish their blazing branches

Flowering whilst catching afire

Tainting falling but never fading

Gazing at them

These blossoms have grown so much a part of me

To part with them when they fall

Seems bitter indeed

O Sakura, fear not this life to lose

With every petal lost

Know only that which unfolds in Spring

At Winter's end

When he first opened the letter and read what was inside, he was surprised for it to be a poem, and not an epistle. Anyone who looked at it would have known that it was a poem addressed to whoever read it first, but to Takasugi…

It was more than just a poem that left her final regards.

It had taken a little over just twenty minutes to read through and analyze, just as he used to do with Shoyou's classes that taught him well the riddles and beauty of poetry. Shuyo was obviously testing him to see how well he knew of her brother's past lessons, as well.

"Starting off along the shore at Tago…" he murmured. Tago referred to the name of the actual seashore across Mt. Fuji; the place where it was best to actually see the famous landscape of Mt. Fuji… a volcano and a mountain. The shore and the area had been set to being off-limits to normal people approximately two hundred years ago because of its volatile character. A perfect place to gather vagrants and corpses and do whatever the person wanted without being noticed by the government.

But if there was one thing that was off… it was also known as a place sacred to gods on Earth. It was an ironic thing, really. The Noragami, who were literally calling themselves 'stray gods', were using the mythical place of actual gods as their hideout.

"That profound ember, hiding not its glow in the fast approaching storm, kindles into flames with one cinder more…"

The mentioning of the embers and their flames was referring to the Noragami's growing influence and power, which would soon be enough to spread the same fire to the rest of Japan with one more sacrifice. The storm was only a foreshadowing of the darkness that would cover the country and swallow it whole.

The allusion to the landmarks in the sky and of the borderline between night and day were indications as to the time in which they should attack, and the Ravens obviously referred to the crest the Noragami used. What was previously thought to be a crow was replaced by a raven – an animal known for its cunning and flight.

As he skimmed the next lines, it irked him to realize that she was saying how the darkness – thus, the Noragami's power – would leave only their own in the world; replacing the current world with the new world created by them. It was different than what he expected, though, in that of 'replacing' his objective instead of destroying it.

The Noragami were not rivals in regard to his plans – they were a hindering enemy.

He was going to obliterate the corrupt world, while the Noragami were planning to take control of it and make it theirs.

If there was one thing that he didn't like within the letter, though, it was that Shuyo used too many metaphors about how the darkness and black was going to cover everything. It was enough to hear from that red figure and the other Noragami about how they were going to take over the world. Enough to make him feel sick of it all.

Of course… the hatred he felt for them wasn't enough to rival that of his root-deep loathing for the person who beheaded his teacher.

"Amidst those burning flames…sakura flourish their blazing branches…flowering whilst catching afire… tainting falling but never fading…" From there on, it was her personal message to him. A warning to him of what would be if he wasn't careful; a lament of what was to come; an early farewell of what might be…

And a reminder. It was a clear sign that showed him that she wasn't going to plan on dying like her brother did, anytime soon.

A farewell with the promise of her waiting for him.

Gazing at them

These blossom have grown so much a part of me

To part with them when they fall

Seems bitter indeed

O Sakura, fear not this life to lose

With every petal lost

Know only that which unfolds in Spring

At Winter's end

"You're as cheeky as ever, Shuyo." He whispered, but responded to her written calling, promising that he wouldn't let her go when he found her again. No matter what she stated otherwise within her poem.

"Mn…" The moment Matako opened her eyes, the bright lights overhead blinded her sight. She blinked, then slowly opened her eyes once more to see a familiar head with headphones overhead.

"Are you awake now, Matako? How do you feel?"

"B-Bansai… senpai… I…" she winced at the pain shooting off in her stomach, and her hand reached for the place where she was stabbed. "What… what happened… to me?"

"Do you remember anything from the incident? You were infected by an Amanto parasite from the Noragami, and controlled-gozaru." He helped her get up and sit on the bed – her bed, actually, which meant that she was in her room and not in the medical room. At least, that meant that her wound wasn't as bad as to receive intense medical care.

"N-no… all I remember is… that I saw him… Harasuma… that young teen who died months ago when those Noragami first came here. He… I was shocked when I saw him, alive and perfectly sound." She said, "But that's impossible… right? I mean, he died – so how did…"

"Those Noragami seem to be well known for meddling with things that are not of this world-gozaru. Those parasites must have been the factor in controlling what seemed to be a corpse. Amoebic Amanto parasites, which thrive in places without air. Thus, the Noragami took advantage of the corpses we had in the mortuary and had their own soldiers carry the hosting eggs so that they would hatch and find the perfect puppets to control-gozaru."

"Divide and conquer from the inside out, is it…" she muttered, wincing again at her freshly bandaged wound. "But it was so real… he acted so… alive…" she shivered as she remembered what that younger adolescent did.

She'd gone to her room to change, unease welling up inside when she saw Takasugi behead those guards who approached him about Shuyo, but didn't say anything. When she stepped inside, she was met by the sight of that youngster who was supposed to be dead, sitting on her bed and smiling. He was dressed in a white kimono and holding onto a white Noh mask – similar to what one of the Noragami leaders wore. Her first thought was that he was a ghost, but when she opened her mouth, he stood in front of her, slamming her body into the door without making a sound.

She was so shocked that she couldn't even reach for her guns, much less fight back when he sneered at her, his eyes turning bright red, then promptly covered her mouth, shoving something slimy down her throat. It burned all the way down, feeling like something was starting to move around in small bundles and bulges in her insides as her vision became dim. The last thing she saw was Harasuma smirking down at her, opening his mouth to show a dark purple worm crawling from it, laughing at her. Pain flashed in her entire body, and she had passed out.

"After that… I remember bits and pieces. I…" suddenly, her face went bright red when she remembered that she had tried to kiss Bansai, then do the same thing for Takasugi. He noticed her discomfort, also feeling a little disturbed (maybe more than just a little), and coughed into his fist to get her attention.

"You weren't yourself-gozaru. Shinsuke managed to save you before anything happened, so that is that-gozaru. Are you feeling alright now, though?"

Refusing to still look up at him, Matako nodded. "Yes… wait, Bansai-senpai… who… who changed my clothes?"

She glared up at him and he answered calmly, "Ah, I did. I didn't think that you would like to wake up while dressed in rags-gozaru. Rest assured, I didn't see anything-gozaru."

"It's fine if it wasn't Takechi-senpai. I can't trust that lolicon hentai, ever, honestly." Breathing out a sigh, she asked cautiously, "And… what about that Shuyo-san? Where is she? I thought she was with—wait… did she get-,"

"Yoshida-dono wasn't killed." He reassured her, and some color came back into her shocked face.

"But… Shinsuke-sama was acting off, and she wasn't… she wasn't with him when we came back."

"She was taken by the Noragami-gozaru. And right now, we're headed to where she is…" he nudged his chin in the direction of the window, and Matako gasped at the sight of the giant mountain, covered with snow in the distance. "… at Mt. Fuji. Goodness knows why she knew so much about the Noragami if she wasn't a traitor like Shinsuke said, but… so, apparently, we're going to have our final dance with those Noragami…"

"Bansai-senpai… are we going there to reclaim Shuyo-san, or are we going there to crush the Noragami?"

His reply was quiet. "It would be up to you as to how to interpret it-gozaru. When we all joined the Kihaitai, we all promised to follow that man only because he promised to destroy the Bakufu, but this time… it certainly is a little different. It seems as if we're going to rid of the ones who will undoubtedly prove to be a nuisance to our plans in the future, but it also seems different when it comes to the one involved-gozaru." he came around to pat her shoulder and motion that she should lie down. "And it is also up to you as to how to decide what to do from now on. Shinsuke won't say anything if you abstain from participating in the upcoming battle, given your condition… and other things-gozaru."

The guns-woman frowned at what he was implying. "I would never use my wounds as an excuse to refrain from acting as Shinsuke-sama's gun. It's my duty and my calling to follow him everywhere. If he wants to reclaim Shuyo-san, then that's where I'll follow him. Putting my feelings aside, I know better than to let emotions cloud my judgment, senpai."

He gave her a half-grin, half-frown, shrugging. "I thought that your song changed just a little in regards to your heart, Matako. It seems that I'm not the only one who's changed as well-gozaru. That was all I wanted to find out from you."

With that, he gave her one more look, turning to leave. "Take care of your wound, then, until the time comes-gozaru."

She stopped him, saying, "Senpai, whether it is in battle or not… if it's what Shinsuke-sama decides, then I will act as his bullet and open his path. That's never changed – and regardless of whether he's in love with Shuyo-san or not."

"Here." The clairvoyant scooped the food from the bowl and held it up to the long haired woman who was still chewing on the rice she'd been given a moment ago. It was a good thing that Shuyo seemed to be willing to eat, though. While she would have done it, Shizuko preferred not to do something like trying to shove something down a person's nose or mouth in order to feed them. It might have been funny, coming from someone like her, but it was so… uncivilized.

She startled when the doors opened and Yamyra came striding inside. The spoon of soup slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground.

"Move." He ordered her, and she did, though a bit reluctantly, from Shuyo's side. She had been in the midst of feeding her carefully – more carefully than she did the first time. It had been almost two days since the Noragami had Shuyo on their ship. On the second day, they had arrived at their destination, but had yet to unload or get off.

And during that short time… well, it was a bit of an understatement to say that Shizuko felt differently towards Shuyo now.

The first time Shizuko was left to be in charge of feeding Shuyo, she had hated the task and also felt nothing but pity towards the chained woman as like before. She had always seen Shuyo as a sacrifice, and nothing more. Her clairvoyant, psychopathic powers granted when she became one of the Noragami always showed her what kind of souls were of the strongest among humans.

But now that she came face to face with the actual person, the color, calling and pulsing of that soul… was different.

When she saw Shuyo's soul through those smoky eyes, she was struck by the enormous power, willfulness and a strange, resounding warmth coming from that soul, and that of her brother's within her. The pulsating, swirling colors and the emitting of warmth from her all merged into the person that Shizuko saw in front of her – something that had never happened before.

It made her uneasy, but she carried out her task, feeling less as if the prisoner was just livestock… and more as an equal. A real, living person.

All Shuyo did was smile at her, but that expression showed Shizuko more than just the turning up of the mouth and the small crinkling of the eyes to reflect that smile. It was much, much more.

It was… like Shizuko was alive again, and looking into the face of someone who smiled as if they loved her… reminding her of someone she had once considered significant in her human life.

Who it was, she didn't know. When she became a part of the Noragami, she lost all her memories, just like the other leaders did. In return, she was given strange new powers and abilities no human was supposed to have, compared to the others who were already monster strong physically and extremely skilled in combat.

If there was anything left from her old life, it was that stinging ray of hatred which always burned within her. What or who that hatred was directed towards, she didn't remember either, but it was what fueled her into acting every day since she came back as one of them.

Shizuko watched as Yamyra snapped his fingers against the chains holding Shuyo's limbs and neck, then picked her up by the arm so that she was thrust forward in front of him.

She wanted to snap at the red figure, saying that it was unnecessary for him to handle her in such a way, regardless of what their questionable relationship was in the past. But she froze when he glanced at her, flinching when she knew that he read her mind.

"So this woman's already tamed you in such a short time, Shizuko? I thought you threw away such feelings when you became a Noragami. Did this woman stir up those past human emotions with that soul of hers and that smile? That feeling of longing for what is no more?"

At his sarcastic taunt, Shizuko blushed, but did not answer, biting savagely into her lip to prevent herself from saying anything that would be used against her.

"You're not the only one."

Her head snapped up in surprise at the extra comment, but he was already gone, along with the mysterious prisoner.

Shuyo walked forward, being half dragged and half being led off the ship and into some sort of covert location within the mountain. It looked as if it was a large temple built from the interior of the mountain itself, and a complex maze that built up the most of the outer brim of the mountain's top. Curiously enough, though, the entire place was actually heat-free, despite the flames and lava simmering from under the barely slumbering volcano ground. She and Yamyra had gone through three halls already, and she passed through the ubiquitous odor of rotting flesh, blood and of brimstone.

The sight couldn't help but make her wonder how the Kiheitai were doing after their last fight in the festival.

Suddenly, the pull on her arm loosened and let go. She stared at the red figure stop in front of her, then turn in a silent swish to face her.

His voice was soft, but his words sharp. "You still persist on thinking about those pathetic humans, Shuyo. When you yourself are far from what they might call human," he stepped closer to her, getting into her space and stretching out his hand to touch her face. "You still persist in thinking about that man. Why? A mere human cannot have such everlasting feelings because of their short lived lives and their volatile nature, Shuyo. Yet you return his feelings, which do not even exist? Even if they did, he would never be capable of such a thing, so why try at all?"

She lifted her hand to ward off the cold fingers tracing her cheek, staring up at him directly. Because that is the way humans live. That is what it means to be alive. To go on a road and stumble and fall, wander while being lost and taking the risks and chances that path makes us face. You should know this… as much as I do, Yamyra. I know you remember.

She could see him tremble as she continued to relay her thoughts. His irritation and anger rolled off of his furiously rising form as he seemed to get bigger and bigger in front of her eyes – until he towered over her in a giant roll of red.

And just because human lives are fleeting and do not persist for even a hundred years, does not mean that what they had does not last for far longer. You won't be able to change me or him with just a simple reprimand or threat, so please… Yamyra, stop.

As if that was the last straw, Yamyra quickly pried the death mask off his face and threw it into the wall, smashing it into pieces. Underneath that mask was a face – a beautiful, wholly formed face that made her gasp in shock. But it couldn't be –

The next time he opened his mouth, she flinched at the scent of raw flesh and blood flowing from it. Shock still made her stop in her tracks and gape at him open-mouthed. "You're wondering why and how I have this face, hm? I did it because it was for you, you damn wench."

He bent forward and pressed his palm over her eyes, and breathed into her ears. A dark wisp of a cloud crept from his mouth and covered her face, suffocating every opening with the smoke. It tasted like ice and ashes on her tongue and an uncomfortable heated burning crept inside the shell of her ears, and she gagged.

No… no, don't do this—

The dark smoke got thicker in front of her eyes so she couldn't see anything anymore, and something like a heavy weight pressed down on her body, making it unfeasible to continue to stand against that weight… but only to fall into it.

As soon as she slumped forward, losing her consciousness, he picked her up and whispered, "For years I've dreamt of this moment. For centuries in this miserable life, Shuyo."

As if he touched a pretty object, he continued to touch her face stroke her hair lovingly, though his voice was filled with hatred. "Because of your cursed identity, and your existence, I have suffered for so long. After your brother was rid of, I thought that you would finally become mine… until that man appeared, ruining my plans. Why did it have to be him and not me, Shuyo?"

He sounded wretched, miserable as he questioned the unconscious woman in his arms. He shook her as if she could wake at any moment and continued in a dreamy voice. "But now that you will become a part of the Master, this time you and I will be together forever. So until then… sweet dreams."

His soft bidding was succeeded by the resonating of cannons and a large commotion outside and a violent upheaval that shook the mountain.

"It seems that your band of warriors and our legion of deities cannot ever confront each other without some sort of explosion or commotion happening." Peering up into the opening of the mountain, Yamyra peered up at the figure standing in front of the ship's head. "And it seems that your little samurai has arrived… and with more guests." Yamyra smiled with teeth, and resumed to walk forward, knowing how to greet his guests perfectly… and his personal guest with an occasion that would be unforgettable… if not fatal.

From here on, it was war. Quite literally.

After finding the mountain and detecting the Noragami's horde, Takasugi had ordered his and Kamui's troops to blast down the mountain, not enough to bring it down or make the volcano awake, but enough to draw out the Noragami from their nest.

As the Kiheitai approached the mountain on their ships, the reason why the Noragami were able to run along for centuries without being found out was apparent. The heat and energy emanating from the volcano itself was able to hide the enormous storage of foreign energy that belonged to the Noragami from electronic, scientific and any kind of physical radar from far away. It was only because their ships had gotten to the actual base of the mountain and got within near point blank range that they noticed something was off with the energy levels in the area.

"They like to play with fire, don't they. Hiding out in a yet burning mountain like this…" Takasugi said out loud to himself, holding his kiseru in his left hand and looking down at the slope of Mt. Fuji, which was dark and coated with the ash that solidified over the years after its rare explosions. The zombie Chimeraic Noragami were already rising from the body of the mountain or snapping into formation from where they wandered as sentries at the approaching foreign ships.

From far away, it looked as if the top was closed off and white with snow, but as soon as they entered the close range, the sight of the snow wavered and disappeared, leaving only the view of a black, endless hole at the top leading all the way to the red bottom of unmoving lava.

A wave of warm wind came blowing from the cavern of the mountain's top, bringing the fresh smell of rotting flesh and of death with it. This place, which was revered for centuries as a holy mountain, was already deeply corrupted with mounds of corpses and fakes who called themselves gods. It was no different than the rotten world which had risen only with the piling of millions of bodies and countless rivers of blood. What an ironic thing that was. "First it was explosions… then the cannons and bombs… then setting a pyre to the festival…"

"So you're just doing them a favor by returning all that conflagration, hm? Speaking of, what kind of festival did you go to? I thought you didn't have the time because you were recovering, Shinsuke. When did you get the time to go on a date with that lady?"

Takasugi ignored the last question, glaring at the young pirate lounging on the ship's edge behind him. His black and gold kimono inlaid with hanging purple lantern flowers matched his usually elegant stance and mood. Exhaling, he said, "Don't forget your role."

Kamui smiled, opening his umbrella and standing at the tip of the ship's mast and peering down at the battle starting below with the Kiheitai and Harusame against the Noragami. "Hai, hai. All I have to do is open your path when the first wave of small fries are killed and kill off everyone else in the second wave while you go and deal with the last boss and also get that lady back, right? But the fact that you're heading off on your own to do all this and hogging all the fun parts is just a bit unfair, Shinsuke."

The leader of the Kiheitai glared at him in annoyance, almost pointedly. Kamui clapped his hands. "Ah, right. You're going to duel me after I pay off this debt, hm? And afterwards, if that woman's still alive, I get to fight her again too.~"

"Feel free to go wild." Shifting away from Kamui who made his way down the battlefield as he lightly jumped off with his open umbrella and started a whole another catastrophe, Takasugi looked back down at the main battle that had begun down below. His Kiheitai and the Yato warriors fighting an enemy unknown from the world… and gaining no kind of credit that would take them a step closer to destroying the Bakufu…

No. That wasn't quite right. The benefits wrought from this battle would be priceless.

When they had Shuyo back and annihilated their enemy, they would be able to resume the path he led them down on.

Just as his ship hovered right above the mountain, Takasugi's gaze stopped on a person below, standing on the rift of the mountain's top, holding her arms up as if she wanted to be taken away. Straight, light-brown, grey hair wavered in the tempestuous heat waves coming from behind her.

And he glowered at the Noragami behind her who wielded two dao blades, placing them against her throat and wore all white.

Kuso cocked his fingers at Takasugi, daring him to jump off and get at him. Taunting him whilst touching her unblemished skin and her scars with those hands of his.

Hatred rose like a fresh flood inside him and he reveled in the feeling, allowing it to fuel his roaring beast.

Damn all the waiting. He was sick of it. Without a second thought, Takasugi jumped what little space remained between his ship and the top of the mountain, whipping out his katana and bringing it smashing down onto his once dead adversary.

"I've missed you, Mr. Kuro-Kemono. I'm so glad you came." Kuso bit out from under his death mask, holding up his weapons in an x against Takasugi's katana. "I'm glad I get to fight the stronger you. Loss has made you stronger, hasn't it? How did it feel, when this woman left you in the dirt and you started crying for her?"

Takasugi didn't reply, just clenched his teeth, lowering his gaze to Shuyo, who looked at him with teary eyes, reaching for him with both of her hands. Something twitched uncomfortably inside him when he saw her cry. But… why was she crying at all?

Pulling her back, Kuso tossed her aside onto the ground and quickly swung his left dao sword in a straight lunge at Takasugi's stomach while stabbing into the place where he dodged the first blow with his katana. Parrying that blow, Takasugi clashed in endless swings against the large blade with his own, which elicited sparks at each time their weapons collided.

With a grim thought, Takasugi realized that Kuso had gotten much faster than he was previously, and his blows much powerful… though they were almost sloppy in each exacting impact because of Kuso's evidently gleeful bloodlust. If a single strand of his concentration snapped, then he would be—

His eye widened when Kuso suddenly shoved Shuyo in the path of Takasugi's sword which came at him in a clean arc. It was only for a single moment, but his swinging wavered, and Kuso took advantage of that, bringing his leg up in a swinging kick and connecting with Takasugi's left arm, which he brought up to barely defend himself with.

"Kch-!" The powerful impact cracked his arm's bone, dislodging it from its proper place and jutting out in a dreadful crack. Blood spurted from the wound, spraying into his eyes and into his mouth in crimson drops. He immediately lost his sight, but his sense of smell and instinctual sense hadn't waned – he knew just when his enemy moved, almost landing another devastating blow upon his head. Jumping into the air and stepping back, Takasugi grit his teeth as the pain in his arm was increasing. If he didn't set the bone back into its place, it would become an even bigger hindrance in this fight.

"Oi, oi, what's wrong, Mr. Kuro-Kemono? Your beast and your actions don't match at all, you know. You're starting to waver, you know. You're going to get killed-," Kuso stopped in the middle of his sentence, running at him in a flash and knocking him over onto the ground with a hefty swing with the flat side of his dao blade. "—you know!"

Takasugi went flying and crashed into the dirt, but managed to push his jutting bone back into his arm, blood filling his mouth as he bit his tongue at the aching pain. The pain relieved just a little, but the blood didn't stop flowing.

The recent swing Kuso executed was a sloppy one, backed only by pure strength and no control. Spitting out the blood from his mouth, Takasugi grinned. If he played this out well, he wouldn't even have to fight him for so long to bring him down.

Standing back up, Takasugi braced himself and jumped to the side as Kuso lunged, bringing his swords smashing down onto where he was. The ground trembled and cracked at the brunt of the force, making the mountain rumble in a warning.

Watching his enemy hesitate just a little at the loud shaking, Takasugi commented, "More than cutting down enemies, it seems all those blades are useful for are being lodged in the dirt."

This first incoming comment, apparently annoyed the Noragami – with a bellowing shout, Kuso turned to swing his left dao blade and brought down his other one in a wide slash, trying to get at Takasugi's limbs but missing when he used his katana and his short dagger to block them, evade and stab at Kuso instead.

Staring at the black red blood staining his weapons, Takasugi smirked. "First blood. Are you sure you've gotten better than I did, leader of the Noragami?" When he reeled back to give Kuso the finishing blow, Kuso twisted his swords to block him and jumped into the air in a somersault.

Landing right behind the place where Shuyo had been thrown, Kuso grabbed her haori and pulled her to him, using her as a shield. "And all you have gotten to be is weaker than ever. You can't even properly fight with this hindrance in the way, right?"

"You low-life-," he hissed, raising his katana and jumping at his opponent.

"The same goes for you," Kuso replied, lightly dodging Takasugi's blow and the numerous parries after that. "You've done the same, haven't you? Using whoever you could and throwing them away after they became useless, and obliterating anything in your way. We're all birds of the same feather, you know. Why not help the other out?"

"Don't mix me in with you atrocious fakes," Takasugi snarled, and with his next lunge, he came in as close enough to catch the stench of brimstone mixed with Shuyo's scent… which did not exist at all.

That was enough to affirm his suspicions. As soon as he realized what was going on, he made a feint of his next stab, dropping his katana on the way, which made Kuso startle just a little and raise his blades in suspense of what was to come.

But instead of going for any weapon, and instead of according to Kuso's expectations, Takasugi dodged the first blade and using his hand to support himself while leaping onto the sword, twisted his body into the air, soaring above Kuso.

In the fraction of that moment, he whipped out his small dagger and slashed into Kuso's arms while using his other injured arm to smash into Kuso's face tilted into the air, breaking the mask with a satisfying crunch. He had been itching to punch the bastard, after all, and the shooting sparks of pain running up his arm was worth it.

As the shards stabbed into his face and the dagger cut through the tendons of Kuso's wrists, he howled from both pain and from anger, the swords falling from his hands. Surprisingly though, he held onto Shuyo, still believing that she was a proper shield in a battle that he already lost.

In the time that Kuso stood blinded and howling, Takasugi dived for the dao blades which had fallen, kicking them away by the hilt, and they dropped into the cavernous mountain's opening. Then he went for his katana on the ground, and rolling as he clenched it once more in his hand, straightened up.

"Y-you fucking worm—how dare you-!" Kuso's death mask crumbled away, showing Takasugi the face he'd seen previously. Kuso's face looked as if it had been burned horribly in a fire, and all traces of a human face were literally ripped off. Dark red eyes stared at Takasugi like two blazing coals. On top of that, it looked as if someone had tried to claw that face off, leaving a giant scar over his eye, leading down to his cheek and chin.

By the look of it, it didn't seem to be the wound that Takasugi had inflicted on him when he'd first killed Kuso.

Takasugi looked at that wound for an instant, watching Kuso as he staggered while struggling to hold onto Shuyo while putting a kunai to her throat. His voice was filled with blatant hatred, but trembled with the fear of being truly defenseless. How pathetic. "You don't care what happens to this woman?!" Kuso's ringing voice didn't still Takasugi in his tracks as he started to run at him.

Kuso's bloody grip on his kunai wavered when Takasugi suddenly disappeared from his sight and reappeared right in front of—

A dark green eye looked up at those widened red eyes in a cold, solid glare. "I don't."

But that red glare was starting to already lose its light as it stared down at the katana running through both his chest… and through the woman he had been holding hostage.

Will be updated again sometime soon. I'll make sure to finish this story before 2020 ends, though.

Ta-ta!